Consequences
by klutzysunshine
Summary: Set post season four. Zeph is in denial for weeks, instead blaming her symptoms on grief. Johnny tries to get through to her.


Zeph groaned, wiped her mouth, and then reluctantly grabbed Johnny's hand when he appeared in front of her to help her up. "I can take care of myself," she griped, glaring at him.

"I'll believe you when you aren't so pale, how about that?" He stared at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She shot him another look and then went to make her way back to the lab, Johnny at her heels. "Why in the hells are you following me?"

"Because I'm worried about you. You've been off ever since Pip's death and our little trip into the alternate world."

"It's been a month and a half. I'm fine!" Zeph snapped, hoping he'd let her get back to work.

"Yeah, I don't believe you. How often have you been throwing up? Have you taken a blood test yet?" he prodded.

She stared up at him, a frantic feeling gnawing at her. "What the fuck are you implying?"

Johnny crossed his arms and sighed. "How long are you going to remain in denial?" He was worried about her and the fact that she wouldn't admit she was grieving _and_ pregnant.

"About what? Will you let me get back to work? I don't have time for this." Her heart started pounding in her chest and she desperately needed him to leave her alone. Nothing was the matter with her - she was just stressed and missing the man she loved, as per usual.

"It's okay to mourn Pip - hells, I still miss Pawter. But something else is going on with you, Zeph, and you need to deal with it. As your friend, I'm ordering you to talk to me."

Zeph snorted. "You're ordering me to talk to you? Ha!" She went to turn back to her work but that didn't deter Johnny at all.

"Zeph, come on."

"I'm just mourning Pip. That's all this is, Johnny. I'm making myself sick and will be fine soon." She flashed him a fake smile and tried to ignore him again. She missed Pip so much she could barely breathe sometimes, which is why she had to drown herself in her work and ignore everything else - it was so much easier this way, even though sometimes it made her hurt worse. Zeph honestly hated everything about this and just wanted everything to go back to normal even though she knew it never would or could.

"Am I going to have to call in Dutch? This isn't all grief, and you know it." He didn't know why and when he had made himself Zeph's confidant but Pip's sacrifice had bonded the two of them forever. It was nice in a way but also pretty frustrating.

"I'm fine," she insisted through gritted teeth.

Johnny tried to wait her out but once he realized she wasn't going to say anything and would keep working, he sighed. "You're pregnant." The sooner Zeph came to terms with it, the better.

Her hands slipped off the telescope and onto the table. Zeph turned to stare at him with such a haunted look on her face that he nearly fell apart just staring at her. "I am not pregnant."

"Why don't you run a blood test so we can find out for sure?" cut in Dutch, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

"I didn't even call you," Johnny mock whispered.

"I figured you needed some help," she answered, rolling her eyes at her best friend.

"Just take the test for my benefit, please? Johnny's got me curious, and I won't rest until we have an answer." Privately, she shared Johnny's concerns about Zeph but didn't want to spook her any more than she already clearly was.

"Fine. I'll do a fucking blood test if it'll make you both happy." Glaring at them, she grabbed some equipment and did the test. And once it was clear neither was going anywhere, she passed the time waiting for the result by staring them both down.

When the computer beeped and revealed the answer only minutes later, Zeph's eyes filled with tears. "Oh gods. Fuck." She gasped and spun around in her chair, preparing to flee, but Johnny and Dutch blocked her way. "Really?"

"Sorry but we're not going anywhere. We're here to help in any way we possibly can." Dutch went to hug her but Zeph pushed her away.

She stood up on shaky legs and the two backed away, giving her some space. "I can't deal with this. It's too much."

"We understand. We'll give you some time." Dutch could see Zeph was heading for another breakdown and figured leaving her alone was their best bet, unfortunately. Falling apart in front of others was something anybody would want to avoid, especially after Zeph broke in Johnny's arms following Pip's death.

Johnny didn't have the same qualms. "No, we won't. Zeph, you're not alone. We will help you raise this baby, this little part of Pip you still have left - that the two of you created together."

That did it - Zeph burst into sobs and sunk to the floor. Johnny quickly gathered in her arms, which only made her wail harder as she flashed back to Pip's death. Dutch joined them on the floor a few seconds later and started rubbing her back. The three of them stayed there for hours, until another bout of morning sickness struck Zeph, and sent her rushing to the bathroom.

The others all stepped in to help Zeph through her pregnancy and were there when she gave birth to a daughter, Piper. Piper grew up surrounded by love and was told many stories about the father she never got to know. Zeph mourned Pip for years but eventually did move on, mostly thanks to her friends and daughter. She missed him every day, however, although Piper healed something within her the day she was born.


End file.
